Our Michigan medical malpractice lawyers recently filed a case against a Midland County Hospital arising from the death of an eighty-four year old patient. The woman was found on the floor next to her bed by the nursing staff. She suffered a serious brain injury and later died from the trauma caused by the fall.

The wrongful death lawsuit was filed against the Mid-Michigan Medical Center in Midland; Michigan The suit alleges various acts of negligence against the hospital. These include the failure to properly appreciate the patient was a significant fail risk, the failure to utilize bed alarms and fall precautionary devices, and the failure to ensure that the patient’s bed rails were up. These required safety precautions would have prevented the fall and the death of the patient.

Patients who are at risk for self-harm or tend to wander outside their room or get up off their bed should have a bed alarm. Bed exit alarms warn caregivers when patients leave or attempt to leave their beds. If patients are medicated, disoriented, and/or confused, getting off their bed without the help of a nurse, doctor, or caregiver can be very dangerous. Bed alarms will prevent a patient fall from hospital bed because if they attempt to get out of their bed, a certified employee of the hospital or caregiver will be notified.

The wrongful death suit against the hospital seeks damages for the pain and suffering that the patient went through prior to her death. It all seeks damages for the loss of her society and companionship that her family sustained as a result of her death. No trial date has been set by the court.